The Siren's Song
by Dusty12
Summary: A cruise goes horribly wrong and a string of tragedies follow soon after the greatest blow to Lucy's heart.


The sweet-smelling parchment soon found itself crumpled up and tossed aside like a piece of common garbage by no other than Lucy herself. The girl and her invitation were currently located in the backseat of her mother's van, said vehicle making it's way towards one of the private docks on the outskirts of Roseville, one where Tess' yacht was apparently docked. Lucy shot a sideways glance at the piece of paper, going over the invitation's words in her mind. Why on Earth had she agreed to come along on this trip, anyway? She blamed Mike for it, really. It was by his doing that she agreed to go on the cruise in the first place, his incessant hounding eventually drove her to a breaking point where she had no choice but to agree to his demands. It truly astounded her that she had given up so easily, since relations between her and Mike had progressively declined until they were at the sub-par juncture they were at now. And yet he still took it upon himself to dissuade her from spending a bit of summer vacation alone… perhaps he really did care? As she thought, her luggage falling over onto her leg snapped her out of her little dream world and the girl bent down to readjust it, grumbling to herself as she did so. Once the faded suitcase had been taken care of, she sat back in the leather seating and sighed, turning her gaze towards the window and watching the scenery speed by, not taking notice of her mother's blue eyes staring at her, reflected in the rear-view mirror.

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Lucy-dear?" Her mother asked, the tone of her words thick with worry. She constantly shifted her gaze between her daughter and the asphalt stretch before her, though the former took priority. Her daughter kept her eyes on the trees and buildings speeding by them and simple shook her head, her ear giving an involuntary flick.

"You worry too much, mom. I'll be fine, it's not like I'll have to swim or anything."

A small frown slipped across her mother's lips, and thusly she let out a sigh, leaning over to fiddle with the knobs for her car's radio station. An announcer's voice came on, mentioning the name of the station and how they only play solid gold oldies, the following song causing Lucy's mother to tap her hands on the steering wheel to the rhythm, her mood brought up the slightest amount. "Well, if you say so, dear. At the very least you'll have Michael there to comfort you." A warm, loving chuckle radiated from within her mother, the older woman totally oblivious to the quickly crumbling relationship her daughter and her potential love interest shared. This caused Lucy to blush the slightest amount and as such she pointedly ignored her mother's statement, not daring to even look at her.

"Yeah… sure."

A thick, awkward silence then filled the gap in their conversation, permeated only by the soothing sounds of Petula Clarke singing about her love. Her mother took no notice to the embarrassed state of her child, busy singing along with the tune as the car hit another bump, nearly dislodging Lucy's suitcase again. Her mother's performance went on for a few more minutes before a large and white vessel seemed to appear on the horizon, it's stark-white surface partially tinted by the setting sun, the ship looking orange due to that. Said vessel slowly rocked from the waves and as they neared, voices seeped through the car's cracked windows. Lucy could make out the shapes of her friends and their vehicles on the road near the dock, a few of them pulling away after they had left their children. The girl propped her head up with a cheek, looking none too excited as her van sputtered into it's parking space behind a familiar purple Camaro, a vehicle that belonged to David's father. A heavy sigh escaped the girl's lips and she grasped the door's handle, pulling it open and dragging herself out along with her luggage.

"Have fun, Lucy-dear." Her mother cooed, grinning at her from the driver's seat as Lucy slammed the door shut, pulling the handle out on her suitcase thereafter and setting it's wheels down on the pavement.

Her daughter said nothing but flashed a faux smile for her mother's satisfaction. She apparently was satisfied as the van peeled away thereafter, revealing all of her friends hidden behind it. She slipped past a group of conversing parents and meandered over to her friends. She glanced around at their faces only to be surprised as she met Michael's gaze, the Korat narrowing his eyes at her and walking off, causing a frown to appear on Lucy's face. He decided to intrude upon the tender moment Abbey and Daisy were sharing, sitting on the edge of the pier and gazing at the setting sun. This apparently did not make Abbey happy, but Lucy really couldn't find the effort to care. She was soon interrupted, though, as Tess jogged over to greet her, flashing the girl a warm and inviting smile.

"Lucy! Oh, I'm so glad that you could make it."

The Khao Manee said nothing at first, her gaze wandering over the sparkling waters before it was brought back to Tess, her icy blue eyes seemingly penetrating the girl. "Yeah, yeah… let's just hope it's not a repeat of Acapulco, okay?"

That statement deflated Tess' mood very well, the girl's previously warm grin devolving into but a nervous smirk. "Oh… it won't be anything like that at all, Lucy. I promise."

As Tess spoke, Lucy once again found her eyes drawn away from the elder feline's face, said gaze now resting upon the large, white vessel before her. It was quite a large yacht indeed, silhouetted against the orange sky and many rooms inside, all lit up. It was such a wonderful piece of craftsmanship… Lucy couldn't help but feel herself become entranced with the liner, staring at it for a long while. This did not go unnoticed by Tess who couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing the interest that Lucy had taken in her boat.

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" Tess added knowingly, crossing her arms.

"…I guess. What's her name?"

"I call her the Yuriloli. The H.M.S. Yuriloli to be exact."

Lucy's transfixion with the boat was broken as she blinked, turning her gaze back to Tess with a quizzical look invading her visage.

"…Uh, what's that even mean?"

That phrase seemed to catch Tess of guard, the girl's arms dropping as her countenance screwed up, relaying a sort of pensive state of mind. She placed a single hand on her hip and used the other to tap her chin, visibly caught up in her thoughts. "I… don't really know to be honest. It sounded pretty cool so I went ahead with it. You like?"

The girl shrugged. She had spent a bit too much time admiring the vessel, really. It was just a simple boat after all, who cares? Her conversation with Tess, however, was interrupted as Abbey stormed past them both with Daisy in hot pursuit. Michael appeared a few short moments later, trudging after the couple with a defeated look on his face before Tess stopped his advance, her hand resting on his shoulder. There was a momentary pause as the girl looked around the dock before calling everyone around to encircle her, Tess digging in one of the pockets of her baggage as they did so. Once she found whatever she was looking for, she cleared her throat and squinted down at the paper, running over the words with her eyes.

"…Alright, we've got seven cabins onboard. So… someone will have to share with someone else. I've got the perfect people in mind…" A grin crossed her lips and soon enough her eyes had found just what she was looking for on the list. "Yep, cabin one is for Paulo and David. I figured we'd get the two troublemakers together so they don't annoy the other occupants." Said two shared a high-five and Tess simply rolled her eyes, unable to mask her growing smile. "Yeah, yeah, okay boys… where was I? Ah… Cabin two is for Daisy, three for me, four for Abbey, five is for Mike, six for Lucy and seven for Sue… speaking of Sue, is she here yet?" Tess' eyes shot up from her list and gazed around the group, but the blond feline wasn't anywhere to be found. However, everyone's eyes were drawn to the sound of plastic rolling against pavement, a certain girl with a berry necklace running over to them.

"I… I'm here…" She panted, stopping once she reached the group and doubling over to catch her breath.

Tess simply patted the girl's back, offering her a pitiful smile before she turned her gaze back to the group. "Well… any questions?"

"I've got one." Michael said quietly, crossing his arms. "Why's my cabin next to Lucy's?"

A tense, strained silence suddenly fell over the group as Lucy shot a glare at Michael, the girl feeling her face burn slightly as her cheeks erupted in the faintest shade of red. Tess' nervously glanced between the two of them and opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted as David threw himself into the center of the group, seemingly holding a fake pipe to his mouth. "Because…" He began, his tail starting to wag as he turned to face Michael and Lucy, giving them both knowing smiles. "Don't you know that you've bought tickets for the esteemed Love Boat?"

Paulo simply stared in amazement at his friend before he raised a hand and buried his face in it, the rest of the group simply shocked by David's little display. Michael was not exempted from this, nor was Lucy, though she felt her visage turn into a scowl as he began to sing, blowing bubbles from his pipe. "Love… exciting and new… Come aboard! We're expecting you!" He began, strolling over to Michael and Lucy, wrapping both his arms around them, pulling them close and chuckling. "And love… life's sweetest reward. Let it flow, it floats back to you!"

Lucy could feel her fists shake in anger, but the canine simply gave them both winks as he strolled towards the staircase connect the boat to the dock, still singing. "The love boat soon will be making another run! The love boat promises something for everyone! Set a course for adventure, your mind on a new romance… and love… won't hurt anymore…" He flashed yet another wink at the group, leaning over the banister on the boat as his grin only widened. "It's an open smile on a friendly shore! It's loooooo-" However, David's singing was cut short as something smacked him in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and hit the wall of one of the cabins. This prompted Paulo to snicker as he dragged his suitcase towards the staircase, smirking at Lucy.

"Nice shot, babe."

Tess then began to rub the back of her head nervously, a deflated sort of grin on her face. "…Uh, yeah… well, I guess we should all get on board then, huh?"

The previous silence was then lifted as everyone began to head towards the staircase, Lucy at the end of the group. As she passed David, she shot him a glare but she said nothing else, propping her suitcase up against the banister and leaning over it, trying her best not to gaze down at the water below. Following the blowing of a horn on board the vessel, her grip only tightened on the banister and as her friends waved farewell to their parents, Lucy shot a final glance at the last piece of dry land she was going to see for a long while.


End file.
